NICOSIA: Mediterranean holiday island Cyprus recorded its best ever August when arrivals jumped nearly 17 per cent to reach more than 458,000 visitors during the peak season, official data showed on Monday. “August 2016 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month,” the finance ministry said. In a clear indication that the economy is on an upward curve, August marked a 16.9-per cent hike in tourist arrivals compared to the same month in 2015. Only July saw more tourists for a single month with a record 482,000 arrivals. Tourists from Britain – the island’s top holiday market – increased 9.9 per cent in August to 172,236, while the second largest market Russia jumped 36.8 per cent to 122,843. There was also a 61 per cent increase in holidaymakers from Israel, with 27,048 arrivals. For the first six months until June, revenue from tourism increased 13.7 per cent to 831.2 million euros ($928 million), up from 730.9 million in the same period of 2015.